On a completely anecdotal non-technical level I prefer the OOC skin tones from the D5200 than from the D7000.

Very True...most every one does. Same with the D5100. Most everyone noted this.

The D7000 has a slight tendency to clip the red channel which seems to introduce a kind of posterisation to skin tones that gives them a slightly "make up" look. I think the tendency may come from the Auto WB pushing the reds a tad.

Not just WB but exposure I think. The D7K (and D7100) really was setup out of the box to shoot raw 12/14bit so highlights usually ended up right at the edge. Shoot skin and it's the RED channel that usually gets there first. Makes a big dif. With an 8-bit OOC jpeg you simply can't do that because even though the RAW histogram (use RAW Digger) showed nothing blown the 8bit JPEG would be.

This isn't a universal "all skin tones are bad" scenario but it does get it wrong from time to time. This isn't a problem if you shoot raw which I do. It's not a deal breaker at all.

Exactly.

The D5200 on the other hand is "cooler" on skin tones which leads to more accurate results in JPEG output. Overall I prefer the jpeg output from the d5200.

Most do indeed. One really has to dial the D7K back a tad and adjust PC's if you intend to shoot OOC JPEG only. One of the many recommendations most made. Some even set a global -EC. Even noted in the Hogan guide I think. Same with the D5100 if you shot RAW. Out of the box it would under expose the highlights when shooting RAW so your had to go the other direction to get the most DR and highlight detail.

As always YMMV.

So true. And remember the ADL discussions? That really affected things as well. Whole different can of worms.

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My opinions are my own and not those of DPR or its administration. They carry no 'special' value (except to me and Lacie of course)

Wasn't this the answer the OP was looking for? That the d5200 has better skintone with ooc jpegs?